Recognize the impact on the US blood supply of screening and testing for emerging transfusion-transmitted pathogens.

Program Description

This program will review the clinical relevance and geographic distribution of the recently emerging transfusion-transmitted pathogens Babesia, Zika virus and Dengue virus. The current state of regulatory requirements for screening and testing for these infections will be discussed as well as the impact of these interventions on the US blood supply.

Continuing Education Credit

AABB estimates both the live and on-demand version of this eCast each to be eligible for 1 continuing education credits/contact hours for Physicians, California Nurse, California Lab Personnel, Florida Lab Personnel and General Participation credit. The final number of credit(s) and credit types awarded for this program (live or on-demand) will be determined by the program duration. For more information on each credit type please visit our
Continuing Education Credits webpage.

Speaker Biography

Dr. Bloch’s expertise is in the field of neglected (e.g. Babesia) and emerging infectious diseases (e.g. Zika virus), particularly in the context of blood transfusion safety. He has participated in studies to develop both antibody and molecular tests for detection of Babesia. He is a member of the International Society of Blood Transfusion infectious disease working party. He has consulted on transfusion policy and development of clinical transfusion guidelines and hopes to use blood transfusion as a platform for infectious disease surveillance so as to guide programmatic support, particularly in low-resource settings.